Best International Film Award – DC Independent Film Festival, Washington, DC

Film Festivals

Roma Cinema DOC

• February 9

Rome, Italy

Festival Brasil De Cinema Internacional

• November 19

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

InstiDoc Film Festival

• November 13-17

Maputo, Mozambique

Int. Women Film Festival KIN

• November 13

Yerevan, Armenia

SNOB Film Festival

• November 10 at 2:00PM

Concord, NH

Coronado Island Film Festival

• November 12 at 4:00PM

Black Box Theater, Coronado Island, CA

21st Arpa Int. Film Festival

• November 4 at 2:30PM

Egyptian Theater, LA, CA

27th Hot Springs Doc Film Festival

• October 27 at 12:00PM

Cinema 2, Hot Springs, AR

DOC LA Film Festival

• October 20 at 3:00PM

Raleigh Studios Hollywood, CA

Tampa Animation Festival

• October 20 at 2:30 PM

Reeves Theatre, Tampa, FL

UN Association Film Festival

• October 18 at 6:30PM

Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA

Cinematic Arts Colloquium

• October 12 at 3:30PM

University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

Portland Film Festival

• October 27 at 4:00PM

Portland, OR

Tallgrass Int. Film Festival

• October 18 at 5:30PM

Wilke Family Center, Wichita, Kansas

Santa Fe Independent Film Festival

• October 18 at 8:00PM

CCA studio, Santa Fe, CA

• October 20 at 8:40PM

Black Maria Film Festival tour

• October 13 at 7:30PM

Florida SW State College, Fort Myers, FL

31st Dallas VideoFest

• October 13 at 12:00PM

Angelika Film Center, Dallas, TX

Bend Film

• October 12 at 5:30PM

in Pan Theater Bend, OR

• October 13 at 3:30PM

Regal Old Mill – 2 Bend, OR

Amazing Shorts Film Festival

• October 3

Madrid, Spain

Buffalo Niagara Int. Film Festival

• September 26

The Rapids Theatre, Niagara Falls, NY

Charlotte Film Festival

• September 29 at 12:15

Ayrsley Grand Cinemas 14 Charlotte, NC

DocuWest Film Festival

• September 23 at 1:45PM

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Denver, CO

Port Townsend Film Festival

• September 21 at 9:00AM

Rosebud Theatre, Port Townsend, WA

• September 22 at 3:30PM

Key City Free Theatre, Port Townsend, WA

Connecticut Film Festival

• September 19 at 6PM

Bethel Cinema, Bethel, CT

Global Peace Film Festival

• September 17

Orlando, FL

Atlanta International Doc Film Festival

• September 14 at 6:00PM

Synchronicity Theater, Atlanta, GA

The Women Film Festival

• September 12 7PM

Hot Bed Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Sioux City International Film Festival

• September 12 at 7PM

Stoney Creek, Sioux City, IA

• September 13 at 12PM

DC Shorts Film Festival

• September 8 at 4:30PM

Landmark’s E Street Cinema, Washington D.C.

• September 10 at 9:15PM

Landmark’s E Street Cinema, Washington D.C.

• September 12 at 9:15PM

Landmark’s E Street Cinema, Washington D.C.

Global Impact Film Festival

• August 26 3PM

Renaissance Hotel, Washington D.C.

BlackStar International Film Festival

• August 17 at 6:30PM

Silverbird theater, Accra, Ghana

Ierapetra International Doc. Festival

• August 5 at 9PM

Iearapetra square Crete, Greece

Woods Hole Film Festival

• July 28 at 4:30PM

Redfield Auditorium Woods Hole, Cape Cod, MA

FRAPA

• July 18 at 8:00PM

@ Cinemateca Capitólio, in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Siciliambiente Documentary Film Festival

• July 13

San Vito Lo Capo, Sicily, Italy

The African Film Festival

• June 30 at 1:30

@African American Museum, Dallas, TX

Santorini Film Festival

• June 20

@Cinema Kamari, Santorini, Greece

Palm Springs International ShortFest

• June 20 at 1:30

@Camelot Theaters, Palm Springs, CA

Bucharest ShortCut Cinefest

• May 19

Bucharest, Romania

Miami Independent Film Festival

• May 27

Miami, FL

Manifesto Film Festival

• May 27 at 5:45PM

De Balie, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Oregon Documentary Film Festival

• May 26 at 7:00PM

@Avalon Theater, Portland, OR

DocLands Film Festival

• May 6 at 2.00PM

@Smith Rafael Film Center, San Rafael, CA

Harlem International Film Festival

• May 6 at 12:00PM

AMC Magic Johnson, Harlem, NY

Montclair Film Festival

• May 4 at 6:00PM

@Clairidge 2 Theater, Montclair, NJ

• May 5 at 1.30PM

@Clairidge 4 Theater Montclair, NJ

Africa World Documentary Film Festival

• April 30th at 8.30PM

Stellenbosch University South Africa

• May 4th at 11.45AM

Stellenbosch University South Africa

Indy Film Festival

• April 28 at 11.15AM

Deboest L.H. at Newfield, Indianapolis, IN

• May 1 at 9:00PM

Indy Film Salon, Indianapolis, IN

Kansas City Film Fest

• April 14 at 4.25PM

@Cinemark Palace

Rincón International Film Festival

• April 10 at 10:00

Rincón, Puerto Rico

Florida Film Festival

• April 10 at 5:00 PM

@Regal Winter Park Village

• April 14 at 12:00PM

@Regal Winter Park Village

Ann Arbor Film Festival

• March 24th at 12.30PM

@Michigan Theater

Black Maria Film Festival

• March 14th at 7.00PM

@Hoboken Historical Museum, NJ

Vancouver International Women in Film Festival

• March 10th at 12.00PM

Vancity Theater

Africa World Documentary Film Festival

• March 11th at 6.10PM

University of West Indies Cave Hill, Barbados

DC Independent Film Festival

• February 17th at 12.50PM

Naval Heritage Center

Africa World Documentary Film Festival

• February 11th at 3.45PM

@Missouri History Museum, Saint Louis, MO

Ryerson University: Refugees: Film & Debate

• January 26th

Ryerson University, Toronto

DOC NYC Film Festival

• November 14, 2017

• Cinepolis Chelsea, New York NY

SYNOPSIS

“Little Fiel” is a stop motion animation/documentary that tells a universal story of peaceful people who have been coerced, conscripted and enticed into killing each other during the unending civil war. It is based on the life story of Mozambican artist Fiel dos Santos who grew up during the 16 year old civil war – another proxy war equipped and sustained by conflicting foreign powers. Fiel created all figures for the animation from dismantled guns. Three New York artists turned them into puppets and animated.

“I work with real guns. There are lots of guns out there. When I destroy one gun I make sure that it wont kill anymore,” says Fiel dos Santos.

When the Civil War in Mozambique started in 1975, Fiel was 3 years old. He had a big family of five siblings and numerous cousins. Towards the end of the 16-year-war, Fiel found himself living alone in the dilapidating house with no electricity and water at the age of 14. To overcome depression and madness he started drawing on the walls of the house. Today Fiel is a renowned artist, one of four authors of the celebrated “Tree of Life” sculpture exhibited in the British Museum. Fiel dos Santos is the only member of his family who hasn’t shot a gun. As he is welding sculptures, we see that beneath his cool façade, Fiel’s childhood memories have hardened inside him. He’s been carrying them all his life, just like his sculptures carry gun pieces as their limbs.

CREW

shot in Mozambique, animated in New York and Connecticut
gun sculptures by Fiel dos Santos
animated by Chris Langer, Gus Ford and Irina Patkanian
director of photography Gus Ford
music by Adam Silverman
sound design by Ross Williams
written/directed/produced and edited by Irina Patkanian

TRAILER

STILLS

TIMELINE

2016-2017 In summers, Irina and Gus make the remaining stop motion animation. Irina edits the film, Chris creates special effects and the dolob cartoon. Adam Silverman composes original music. Ross Williams creates and mixes the soundtrack. On November 14th Little Fiel premieres at DOC NYC, largest American documentary film festival.

2011 Irina and Gus go to Mozambique to pick up remaining 7 sculptures representing File’s family members: Father, Mother, Sister and 4 brothers. Each sculpture is about 2.5 feet tall and weighs around 30 pounds. Chris and his friend Jeff Blank turn sculptures into puppets by cutting them and connecting parts with custom armature. In summer, Irina, Chris and Gus are joined by 12 interns to animate a short scene inside the well, partially funded by 2011 NYSCA grant. After working full days 6 days a week for two and half months, the team has about 6 min. of stop motion animation; 3 min. 20 seconds of which makes it into the final film.

2010 Fiel comes to New York and brings gun pieces. He creates a sculpture of little Fiel. Ross creates custom made armature to turn Fiel sculpture into a puppet. Irina and Chris are joined by Gus Ford as a cinematographer and second animator and the three spend a week making tests and creating a short animation sample for a NYSCA grant.

2009 Irina Patkanian and Chris Langer travel to Mozambique where they meet Fiel dos Santos. Moved by Fiel’s life story and his sculptures of people made from pieces of guns, they decide to create stop motion animation about peaceful people who have been turned into soldiers in another proxy civil war.